**Free streaming of Tyrus documentary through the end of August, go to https://gooddocs.net/pages/tyrusberk... **

Tyrus offers a historical lens for understanding the current moment’s unprecedented visibility for Asians and Asian Americans in Hollywood, as well as the recent rise in antiAsian racism and violence.

The film follows Tyrus Wong’s journey from his birthplace in Guangzhou, China to the studios of old Hollywood as he struggled through poverty and racism to become a successful artist, Hollywood motion picture illustrator, and concept artist on the animated film, Bambi.

This program honors Wong’s enduring legacy and sheds light on the history in which Americans of Asian descent have been scapegoated and subject to harassment, discrimination, and racial violence since the 1850s, when the first wave of Chinese immigrants arrived in California.

Pamela Tom is a documentary and narrative director and producer. Her work explores themes of identity and the intersection of Asian aesthetics and American culture. After meeting Tyrus Wong, Pamela worked tirelessly to make TYRUS, the awardwinning documentary that delves into his life, art, and enduring impact. Tom is a recipient of a Walt Disney Writing Fellowship, Dorothy Arzner Award for Outstanding Woman Director, and Asian Pacific Women’s Network Award. Tom served as the Director of Diversity at Film Independent. She received her BA from Brown University and MFA from UCLA.

Karen Fang is a film scholar and cultural critic who writes about the intersection of eastern and western aesthetics. She also is a regular contributor to the nationally broadcast radio series, The Engines of Our Ingenuity, where her stories about technology and innovations focus on the visual arts. Currently at work on a book about Tyrus Wong, Fang's article about his bestselling Christmas cards appeared in Smithsonian magazine last December.